Academy’s Boys’ Streak Ends at 14

Who invited these guys, anyway?

The Cleveland Storm made an impressive debut at the Metro Cross-Country Championships on Saturday, crowning boys and girls individual champs and earning the boys team traveling trophy.

Cleveland’s Luis Martinez kept his long winning streak intact and narrowly missed a course mark in winning the boys title. Martinez’s classmate, Malia Gonzales, pulled away in girls race midway and finished first.

Equally impressive was the Storm’s overall performance in the boys race. Paced by Martinez, Cleveland had four runners finish among the top 10 in the 113-runner field.

Aaron Flores (third place), Jared Mayoral (ninth) and Preston Panana (10th) earned All-Metro honors, while Matt Smith narrowly missed with a 13th-place finish.

The strong finish allowed Cleveland to snap host Academy’s streak of 14 consecutive boys team championships. Cleveland and Rio Rancho were competing in the annual Metro Championships for the first time.

“We were excited,” Martinez said. “Last year we were kind of upset we couldn’t run here. It was like, `Hey, we’re part of the metro, too.’ We knew Academy had won for 14 years straight. We wanted our chance.”

Cleveland needed a strong outing to dethrone the Chargers, who placed four runners in the top 15 and finished second in the team standings. The Storm finished with 36 points, Academy had 57, and third-place Rio Rancho ended up with 117.

“We ran well and lost to a great team,” Academy coach Adam Kedge said. “Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Martinez had to work harder than expected to extend his streak. The senior is unbeaten since his sophomore season, but he spent most of Saturday’s race matching strides with Volcano Vista’s Zac Castillo. The two runners broke from the pack early and stayed side by side until the final half mile.

“That was the first time he’s matched me for that long,” Martinez said. “I’m really confident in my kick, so I wasn’t really worried, but I was kind of surprised. (Castillo) ran really well.”

Martinez’s kick indeed proved too much. Blazing through the final stretch he finished in 15:16.14 —13 seconds ahead of Castillo and roughly one second off Matt Tebo’s course record of 15:15 set in 2005.

Castillo had to balance happiness with frustration.

“I’m not real satisfied,” he said, “but not too upset either. Luis is ranked in the top 20 in the nation for a reason, but of course I still wanted to win.”

On the girls side, no one seriously threatened to overtake Gonzales. The defending Class 5A state champ built a comfortable lead and rolled to a 22-second victory over runner-up Cassey Amberg of Eldorado with a time of 18:32.87.

“It was exciting because I’d heard of Metros and wanted to experience it,” Gonzales said. “I like this event because you get to compete against other divisions and its’s such a great course.”

Eldorado outpaced Academy for the team title, its third straight. Sisters Cassey and Crissey Amberg led the way for Eldorado, finishing second and fourth, respectively. The Eagles ended with 50 points, Academy had 73 and third-place St. Pius scored 102. Sisters Clair and Erin Archibeck finished third and ninth, respectively, for the Chargers.
— This article appeared on page D6 of the Albuquerque Journal